ACELA's shut down due to brake problems.

[AlanB]

And the press release from Amtrak:

April 17, 2005 8:00 EDT
On Monday, April 18, Amtrak will substitute Metroliner and Regional trains for approximately half of the cancelled Acela Express trains between Washington, New York and Boston, re-accommodating passengers on these trains as seat availability may permit.

Additionally, following the successful inspection of one Acela Express trainset by Amtrak and federal safety officials, Amtrak has cleared the train for service. It will operate tomorrow as #2109 departing New York at 8:00 a.m. and as #2168, departing Washington at 2:00 p.m.

Operation of the Acela Express trainsets was suspended Friday, April 15, following the discovery of cracks in brake rotor spokes Safety is Amtrak's top priority and no trains will operate unless fully inspected and found to be safe for service.

The full press release can be found here.

 

[battalion51]

Interesting that the Metroliners that will be phased out in a week are booming in numbers in their last days of exsistence.

 

[AlanB]

Interesting that the Metroliners that will be phased out in a week are booming in numbers in their last days of exsistence.

I've even heard a rumor, that for the first time ever in history, a Metroliner may actually run through to Boston. Even during the last Acela debacle, that didn't happen.

 

[Trogdor]

Interesting that the Metroliners that will be phased out in a week are booming in numbers in their last days of exsistence.

I've even heard a rumor, that for the first time ever in history, a Metroliner may actually run through to Boston. Even during the last Acela debacle, that didn't happen.

Sounds like a good enough excuse for a "just for the hell of it," last-minute trip to Boston.

What about "New England Metroliners," though. Did they serve Boston, or terminate in New Haven?

 

[AlanB]

What about "New England Metroliners," though. Did they serve Boston, or terminate in New Haven?

As far as I know, they never went past New Haven. Perhaps someone else knows better, but seeing as the Catenary ended in New Haven I'm pretty sure that the Metroliners did too.

 

[AlanB]

Interesting that the Metroliners that will be phased out in a week are booming in numbers in their last days of exsistence.

I've even heard a rumor, that for the first time ever in history, a Metroliner may actually run through to Boston. Even during the last Acela debacle, that didn't happen.

No longer a rumor. Amtrak is indeed selling a first class seat on a Metroliner out of NYP headed to Boston at 8:00 PM tonight.

 

[AlanB]

No new information for tomorrow as yet, but this was released today to their website even though it's dated for yesterday. Interesting to note, that NJT temporarily took over two of the Clocker runs. There must have been some unhappy NJT riders this morning who didn't get their nice cushy Amfleet I's. :lol:

April 17, 2005  Amtrak Takes Steps to Help Northeast Corridor Passengers

Following Amtrak and Federal Inspection, One Acela Express Trainset will operate in Monday Service  

WASHINGTON - Amtrak is taking a number of measures to serve passengers in the wake of the suspension of Acela Express trainsets on Friday, April 15.

However, the railroad cautioned that it is not clear how long the majority of Acela Express trainsets will be out of service. "Trainsets will only return to service if absolutely safe to operate," said Operations Vice President Bill Crosbie. "Specifically, this means that all trainsets must pass a thorough inspection of the disc brakes or they will not operate."

Following disc brake inspections by federal safety officials and Amtrak this weekend, Amtrak cleared one Acela Express trainset for service.

Amtrak intends to operate this Acela Express trainset on Monday, April 18. At 8:00 a.m. Acela Express #2109 will depart New York to Washington. Monday afternoon at 2:00 p.m., Acela Express #2168 will depart Washington to Boston.

Other steps Amtrak is taking include:

?œ An increase in Metroliner trainsets operating between New York and Washington and in Regional trainsets operating between Boston and Washington.

?œ Operation by New Jersey Transit of two Amtrak Clocker departures: #622 (operating as NJT #8814) originating in Trenton at 6:10 a.m. to New York and #627 (operating at NJT #8865) departing New York at 5:15 p.m. to Trenton. Connections between Trenton and Philadelphia can be made on other Amtrak trains. Amtrak is grateful to NJT for this arrangement, which enables Amtrak to use the freed-up equipment for Regional trains.

?œ The re-accommodation of passengers with existing Acela Express reservations on Metroliner, Regional and other services, as available.  Passengers are being refunded any difference in the class of fare.

?œ Waiver of any refund fees for Acela Express passengers as may be requested.

Amtrak suspended operation of all 20 Acela Express trainsets on Friday, April 15 following the discovery of cracks in the spokes of 300 of 1,440 brake discs, or rotors. Amtrak worked through the weekend fitting two trainsets with fully-inspected and crack-free rotors. Additional trainsets may become available for service in this manner, but the railroad will not speculate on the time it will take for a full resumption of service.

The full press release can be found here.

 

[jccollins]

And here is the latest in a letter from Gunn to employees. Once again the west coast gets screwed by losing its charter set and Amtrak misses out on revenue from the charter trips although it needs to be done. :blink:

18 APRIL 05
Dear Amtrak Co-workers:

Let me say thank you to everyone who's been hard at work in the wake of the suspension of Acela Express service Friday, especially those in the Mechanical department, Transportation department and

on the front lines of service delivery – res agents, ticket agents, gate agents and OBS.

Delivering to our passengers the best service possible is of paramount importance right now. Safety, however, is our top priority, and no Acela Express train will be returned to service unless it is inspected and found to be safe.

We are just at the beginning of this situation, and there's not going to be any significant return of Acela service any time soon. However, we are taking a number of steps to deal with this situation, and I want to tell you about them.

First, we are re-working the NEC schedule to slot in as many Metroliner trainsets as we can press into service. Some of this Metroliner Amfleet equipment is on the Adirondack, some of it is on the

Downeaster service. These cars will be returned to the corridor. The Metroliner sets will be deployed in a manner that services the maximum number of our passengers.

We're also moving as much Regional Amfleet equipment into the corridor as possible. New Jersey Transit is helping us by running a Clocker roundtrip with their equipment, freeing up our trainset. The West Coast Horizon charter equipment is coming east to free-up Amfleet equipment on the Empire Service. We are also suspending charter moves.

The Mechanical department is doing an excellent job keeping the conventional equipment shop counts low. For the foreseeable future, Amfleets are all we will have in any quantity for service on the Northeast Corridor, although a few Acela sets may be available from time to time.

Finally, let me acknowledge that this sudden and disappointing development comes as Amtrak's board of directors and legislative policymakers consider our federal support in FY '06 and the long-term future of the railroad. If anything is certain, however, the suspension of Acela service and the subsequent public reaction has pointed out just how important a reliable passenger rail system really is to the traveling public.

At this point, the board still has not yet settled on a request for FY '06.

In the coming weeks, Congressional hearings on our future and other news about Acela can be expected to make headlines. As part of my job, I will continue to provide updates as more is known.

Please continue to focus 100 percent of your energy and attention to the safety and security of passengers while on the job — and good customer service. Our passengers expect nothing less from all of us.

Sincerely,

/s/ David L. Gunn

 

[AlanB]

The latest from Amtrak:

Updated: April 18, 2005 6:15 EDT
This week, Amtrak will substitute Metroliner and Regional trains for most cancelled Acela Express trains between Washington and New York. Only Regional trains will operate between New York and Boston.

Operation of the Acela Express trainsets was suspended Friday, April 15, following the discovery of cracks in the brake rotor spokes. Safety is Amtrak's top priority and no trains will operate unless fully inspected and found to be safe for service.

I guess things have taken a turn for the worse, since there are no Acela's scheduled for tomorrow. Additionally while one Metroliner ran through to Boston, a first to my knowledge, none are scheduled to do so tomorrow.

The full press release from Amtrak can be found here.

 

[AlanB]

Ouch! Things aren't looking good for Acela.

The company that builds Amtrak's Acela Express trains has only 80 disc brakes in stock, not nearly enough to replace the 300 damaged brakes discovered on the railroad's 20-train, high-speed rail fleet.
David Slack, a spokesman for Montreal-based Bombardier, Inc., said Tuesday he did not know how long it will take the company to supply Amtrak with enough brakes to put the Acela trains back in service. Bombardier and Alstom SA of France build the Acela trains.

The full story can be from 1010 WINS News Radio.

Eighty brakes are only 8 more than what’s required for one train set. Hopefully with careful planning however, they can get 5 or 6 trainsets back on the road for next week. That would at least help to restore some semblance of service.